Uralkali Bailiffs Hover in Paddock Amid Haas Crisis

Haas F1 confronts possible seizure at Zandvoort, with Uralkali bailiffs deployed in the paddock.

The Haas F1 Team is facing the threat of having its cars and equipment seized immediately following this weekend’s race due to actions by its former sponsor, Uralkali.

The team has, however, stated that there is “no dispute over the amounts owed” to Uralkali as it endeavors to return the funds following the visit of bailiffs at the Dutch Grand Prix.

A Swiss court arbitration ruling in June ordered Haas to repay the sums already received from its former title sponsor before the termination of their contract in February 2022. While Haas was found to have the right to terminate the contract, it was not entitled to retain the previous payments, with Uralkali stating at the time that it “expected Haas to fulfill its obligations under the ruling without undue delay.”

With Haas yet to return the sponsorship amount, Uralkali has initiated further action by sending bailiffs into the Zandvoort paddock on Thursday evening to detail the team’s inventory. This could prevent Haas from leaving the Netherlands after this weekend’s race if payment is not received by Monday.

“Haas fully intends to pay Uralkali all amounts due under the arbitration award, and there is no dispute over the amounts owed,” reads a statement from the team.

“Haas has worked with its lawyers to ensure that the payment complies with all relevant US, EU, UK, and Swiss sanctions laws and regulations. We will continue to work with Uralkali in the coming days to definitively resolve this matter.”

Multiple sanctions have been imposed on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, complicating the situation and leading to the termination of the sponsorship contract. These sanctions add complexity to the transfer of such a significant payment to Uralkali, and although Haas is working on a transfer as promptly as possible, there could be delays.

The next race is the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next weekend, with teams transporting most of their equipment by road to northern Italy on Sunday night and Monday morning.